Schizont stage of Plasmodium occurs in human erythrocytes and liver cells. Within the human blood the sporozoites, circulates about half an hour and enters into the liver cell. The kupffer cells of the liver clear the sporozoites from the blood stream and kill many of the organisms. A fraction of sporozoites escape destruction, however, and penetrate the hepatocytes where they take up the residence. Here they multiply by schizogony.

**Schizont Stage of Plasmodium Occurs in Human Cells**

The correct answer is option 'C' - the schizont stage of Plasmodium occurs in both erythrocytes (red blood cells) and liver cells. Let's explore this in detail:

**1. Introduction to Plasmodium:**
Plasmodium is a parasitic protozoan that causes malaria. It has a complex life cycle involving two hosts - humans and female Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasite undergoes several stages of development in both the human host and the mosquito vector.

**2. Life Cycle of Plasmodium:**
The life cycle of Plasmodium involves two main stages - the exoerythrocytic stage and the erythrocytic stage.

**3. Exoerythrocytic Stage:**
The exoerythrocytic stage of Plasmodium occurs in the liver cells of the human host. When an infected mosquito bites a human, it injects sporozoites (infective form of Plasmodium) into the bloodstream. These sporozoites travel to the liver and invade hepatocytes (liver cells). Inside the hepatocytes, the parasite undergoes asexual replication, forming thousands of merozoites. This stage is called the schizont stage.

**4. Erythrocytic Stage:**
After the exoerythrocytic stage, the merozoites are released from the liver cells and enter the bloodstream. They invade erythrocytes (red blood cells) and continue their asexual replication. Within the erythrocytes, the merozoites develop into trophozoites, which then mature into schizonts. The schizont stage involves multiple rounds of nuclear division and cytoplasmic division, resulting in the formation of numerous merozoites. These merozoites are released from the infected erythrocytes, leading to the destruction of the host cell and the release of toxic waste products, causing the symptoms of malaria.

**5. Conclusion:**
In conclusion, the schizont stage of Plasmodium occurs in both erythrocytes and liver cells. It starts in the liver cells during the exoerythrocytic stage, where the parasite replicates asexually and forms merozoites. These merozoites are then released into the bloodstream, invade erythrocytes, and continue their asexual replication, forming more schizonts. The schizont stage in erythrocytes leads to the destruction of infected cells and the release of merozoites, contributing to the symptoms and transmission of malaria.